An artist has contacted me regarding the color schemes of the ACL depots in the 1920's, 1930's era. He is working on a painting of the ACL's station at Chester, Virginia. I believe that the frame buildings were painted white. What was the color of the trim and of the roof?

-- William E. Griffin, Jr. (griffinwejr@aol.com), August 30, 2003

Answers

Based on the photos I've seen, indoor plumbing was relatively rare in wood combination depots - more common in the replacement brick depots. The installation of indoor plumbing after the fact usually came at the expense of waiting room space. External evidence of indoor plumbing added after the fact included installation of small four-pane windows (ex. Jarrett VA or Climax GA), painting the glass in the lower portion of the original windows (ex. Ridgeland SC), or constructing a restroom addition on the end of the depot (ex. C&WC Woodruff SC). By far, the vast majority of depots simply relied on "four holers". Interestingly (I really need a life), four holer designs appeared to vary from state to state.

-- Buddy Hill (palmettoLTD@hotmail.com), September 01, 2003.

The ACL depot in my hometown, Woodland, Ga., had the prettiest white and purple privy you ever saw out back - the depot stayed open until 1972. Prof. Hill I think can confirm that some ACL depots had indoor plumbing, but certainly not all of them.

-- Larry Goolsby (clgoolsby@att.net), August 30, 2003.

Bill Sellers - Despite the attractive appearance of Norfolk Southern's light green/dark green livery, I'd bet the ACL stations had the convenience of indoor plumbing. Until it was demolished in 1967, Marsden (by then Chocowinity) had a separate light green/dark green "four-holer" located behind the depot. Were ACL depots so equipped ?

-- Harry Bundy (Y6B@aol.com), August 30, 2003.

ACL depots were painted gray with dark brown trim during the referenced time period as noted by Mr. Sellers. An email addressing ACL painting practices, roof colors, step arrangements, etc. was sent to the artist earlier this week though he hasn't acknowledged its receipt to date.

-- Buddy Hill (palmettoLTD@hotmail.com), August 30, 2003.

Bill: If memory serves me, and it has been very kind up until the present, ACL frame structures were more a light gray than they were white, and the trim was done in dark brown. I remember the stark contrast between ACL buildings and those on the Norfolk Southern Railroad, which were painted light green and trimmed in dark green. Norfolk Southern won hands down for attractive appearance. I hope this helps to answer your query. You may want other confirmations before you take this to the bank, but I think I have it right. Bill Sellers.

-- Bill Sellers (was2nd@charter.net), August 30, 2003.